Regulations, 2015

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 19,509, 10 ta’ Diċembru, 2015

L.N. 393 of 2015

INSURANCE BUSINESS ACT

(CAP. 403)

Insurance Business (Approved Auditor) (Amendment)

Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred by articles 21, 64 and 67 of

the Insurance Business Act, the Minister for Finance, after

consultation with the Malta Financial Services Authority, has made

the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Insurance Citation and

Business (Approved Auditor) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015, and commencement.

these regulations shall be read and construed as one with the

Insurance Business (Approved Auditor) Regulations, hereinafter S.L. 403.09

referred to as ''the principal regulations''.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 1st January

2016.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 2 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

in sub-regulation (1) thereof

(i) in the definition ''approved auditors list'', for

the words ''partnerships of auditors'', there shall be

substituted the words ''audit firms'';

(ii) immediately after the definition ''approved

auditors register'', there shall be added the following new

definition

'' ''audit firm'' shall have the same

meaning as is assigned to it by article 2 of the

Accountancy Profession Act;'';

(iii) the definition ''Authority'' shall be deleted;

(iv) immediately after the new definition ''audit

firm'', there shall be added the following new definition

'' ''competent authority'' means the Malta

Financial Services Authority established by

the Malta Financial Services Authority Act;'';

(v) in the definition ''insurance rule'', for the

words '' ''insurance rule'' '', there shall be substituted the

words '' ''Insurance Rules'' '',

and for the words ''an insurance rule'', wherever they

appear in the principal regulations, there shall be

substituted the words ''Insurance Rules'';

(vi) the definition '' ''partnership of auditors'' and

''partnership'' '' shall be deleted; and

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, for the words ''any

reference to an ''insurance company'' shall be deemed to be a

reference to a company authorised under article 7 of the Act to

carry on business of insurance'', there shall be substituted the

words ''any reference to an ''insurance undertaking'' shall be

deemed to be a reference to an authorised insurance undertaking

or authorised reinsurance undertaking which has received

authorisation pursuant to article 7 of the Act to carry on

business of insurance''.

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a)

for the word ''Authority'', and wherever it appears

throughout the principal regulations, there shall be substituted

the words ''competent authority'';

(b) in paragraph (b) thereof, for the words ''a list of

partnerships of auditors'', there shall be substituted the words ''a

list of audit firms''; and

(c)

in the paragraph immediately following paragraph

(b) thereof, for the words ''of all persons and partnerships who

are entitled under these regulations'', there shall be substituted

the words ''of all persons and audit firms who are entitled under

these regulations''.

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a)

in sub-regulation (1) thereof, for the words ''to audit

insurance companies accounts'', there shall be substituted the

words ''to audit insurance undertakings accounts'';

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, for the words ''any

partnership of auditors duly registered under the said Act'', there

shall be substituted the words ''any audit firms duly registered

under the said Act''; and

(c)

for sub-regulation (3) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

''(3) Any person who acts in contravention of the

provisions of sub-regulation (1) shall be guilty of an

offence and shall be liable on conviction for each offence,

in respect of the first offence to a fine (multa) not

exceeding one thousand and two hundred euro (€1,200)

and in respect of a second or subsequent offence to a fine

(multa) not exceeding six thousand euro (€6,000), and in

the case of a continuing offence, to an additional fine

(multa) not exceeding one hundred and twenty euro (€120)

for each day during which the offence continues.''.

In paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (3) of regulation 5 of the Amends

principal regulations, for the words ''in the case of an applicant who is regulation

the principal

a partnership of auditors,'', there shall be substituted the words ''in the regulations.

case of an applicant which is an audit firm,''.

Regulation 6 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 6 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

'' Suspension or

6. (1)

The competent authority

revocation of

may, at any time, suspend or revoke an

authorisation.

authorisation issued or held under these

regulations if

(a)

the person, in applying for

the authorisation, has given any false or

incorrect information which was

material to the application referred to in

regulation 4 or has obtained otherwise

the authorisation by fraud or

misrepresentation;

(b) the person has failed to fulfil

or comply with the requirements

prescribed by these regulations or as

determined by Insurance Rules or any of

the terms, conditions or limitations

attached to the authorisation;

B

(c)

the person has shown

incompetence in the conduct of his

responsibilities under the authorisation

or has in any manner acted fraudulently,

or dishonestly or otherwise in such

manner as to cease to be trustworthy;

(d) the warrant to act as auditor

issued to the person under the

Accountancy

Profession

Act

is

suspended or revoked under that Act, or

the registration of an audit firm under

that Act is suspended or cancelled

thereunder;

(e)

at any time, in the case of an

audit firm, no longer has any two

partners/directors, or any one partner/

director and one employee, who hold an

authorisation to act as approved auditor;

(f)

the person who holds an

appointment

to

audit

insurance

undertakings accounts is no longer

covered by an indemnity insurance

contract for the amount specified in

Insurance Rules; and

(g) the person is disciplined or

convicted under any provision of these

regulations.

(2) The name of an individual person

or audit firm whose authorisation is revoked

under these regulations shall be struck off the

approved auditors register or the approved

auditors list, as the case may be, and a name

struck off the register or the list shall be

restored thereto only where the revocation is

declared void and of no effect by order of the

Financial Services Tribunal on an appeal

made to it by the aggrieved person under

article 58 of the Act.

(3) Without prejudice to anything

contained in any other provision of the Act,

the competent authority may at any time

suspend or revoke an authorisation issued or

held under these regulations and strike off the

name of the approved auditor from the

approved auditors register or the approved

auditors list, as the case may be, if such

approved auditor fails to pay the annual

supervisory fee, when due, to continue to act

as an approved auditor.

(4) The competent authority may,

after the expiration of one year from the date

of revocation of an authorisation, issue a fresh

authorisation under the provisions of these

regulations.''.

Immediately after regulation 6 there shall be added the Adds a new

regulation to the

following new regulation

principal

regulations.

'' Manner

6A. (1)

Without prejudice to any

leading to

other action which the competent authority

suspension or

may consider appropriate under any provision

revocation of

an

of the Act or these regulations, where, in the

authorisation.

circumstances specified in regulation 6, the

competent authority intends to suspend or

revoke an authorisation issued or held under

these regulations, it shall give the person

concerned notice in writing specifying the

reasons for its intention to do so.

(2) Every notice given under sub-

regulation (1) shall state that the person

concerned may, within such reasonable period

after the service thereof as may be stated in

the notice (being a period of not less than

forty-eight hours and not longer than thirty

days), make representations in writing to the

competent authority giving reasons why the

authorisation should not be suspended or

revoked and the competent authority shall

consider any representations so made before

arriving at a final decision.

(3) The competent authority shall

notify in writing its final decision to the

person

concerned

and,

where

the

authorisation is revoked, the notification shall

also state that the name of the person

concerned has been struck off the approved

auditors register or the approved auditors list,

as the case may be.''.

Regulation 7 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a) sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

''(1) The competent authority shall by Insurance

Rules determine the arrangements governing the audit of

insurance

undertakings

accounts

and

different

arrangements may be determined with respect to the audit

of different insurance undertakings accounts.''; and

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, for the words ''holds an

appointment to audit insurance companies accounts'', there shall

be substituted the words ''holds an appointment to audit

insurance undertakings accounts''.

In regulation 8 of the principal regulations, for the words

''a person or partnership of auditors who acts as approved auditor'',

there shall be substituted the words ''a person or audit firm who acts

as approved auditor''.

€0.27